Pascal Ardilly, Insee, France
I am a mentor for trainees who choose the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (Insee) and in recent years I have also hosted cross-border internships supported by the EMOS mobility programme.
What are the most interesting aspects of EMOS for your institution and you personally?
The most interesting aspects of EMOS are the perception of diverse student' skills and understanding the statistical culture in other European countries.
What do you see as the key benefits of an education in official statistics for master’s students?
Internships are crucial for students, as they provide essential working experiences and a realistic perception of the official statistics environment, preparing them for future jobs before signing the contract with an employer.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I had two pleasant and efficient experiences in 2023 and 2024 with hosting EMOS cross-border internships. The two students were hosted by INSEE in the Statistical Methodology Department, where they worked on topics related to household survey sampling. The first hosted student in 2023 was from the University of Firenze, and the internship concerned optimising the stratification of cities in a two-stage design. The aim of the second internship, which was attended by a student from the University of Bologna in 2024, was to calculate sample probabilities in order to minimise the sampling variance. The knowledge required included survey sampling theory and programming skills, in our case in R.
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